This is the third part of a three part series reviewing the first night of TURF. Thanks to our blogger friend Adam for his contributions, one day, I will upgrade him to a real life friend.
As one would expect, controversy plagued the She & Him show.
Adam: First off, why no photo pit She & Him? Also why no letting the VIP guests (WHO PAID A SHITLOAD EXTRA) into the VIP area?!?! That’s not nice, She & Him. Your songs can be best described as Zooey’s character on The New Girl; pretty, sweet, vapid. I did enjoy lying out on the grass with my eyes closed listening your music. Until you covered “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me.” Ugh! NO ONE CAN COVER THAT SONG… Unless you’re THE BEATLES! Are you the Beatles? Didn’t think so.
Ricky: She & Him could have probably played an entire set of Rancid covers and no one would have noticed because everyone was so busy tweeting/social mediaing about the photo ban. As a well established photographer, I felt slighted at my inability to capture the moment, so instead I photoshopped them onto Joel Plaskett Emergency (for consistency sake). I can understand how a band comprising of a pretty famous actress would want some sort of no flash photography, but when you have an all out photo ban, then it becomes a bit of a side show. Here is what everyone basically did:
a) took out cameras to get a shot of She & Him when they took the stage, much like you know, what happened when Camera Obscura and Joel Plaskett took to the stage. We live in an age now where people MUST take pictures at a show. They HAVE to post about it on facebook or twitter. It’s going to happen. Accept it.
b) got scolded by security about how M. Ward and Zooey would just like you to enjoy the show without photography
c) wow face
d) tweeted about it.
e) Looked around in amusement as security scurried about the grounds telling everyone who took a picture
f) Start to get angry when security start flashing their lights into faces/cameras of people trying to take picture
g) Take secret picture
h) oh yeah, She & Him are playing!
Set wise, as anyone who have heard any of the three She & Him albums can attest to, a She & Him show is like hoping aboard a delorean back to the simpler times. The bands retro-sounding pop sounds great on a summer night and the songs are so gosh darn sweet I feel like I left with a cavity. M.Ward’s still got those guitar chops and they had an older gentleman in a top hat who did an impressive whistle solo. Laid against the starry night backdrop, all the elements were there for a pleasant evening time show, if it wasn’t completely railroaded by the no photo ban. Never Wanted Your Love, a single from the new album sounds like an instant classic. It also sounds like it could have been written by Randy Newman for some pixar movie. Maybe that’s in the works. There was a bevvy of covers too, although some, including Unchained Melody came off as a bit awkward. As expected, Zooey Deschanel came off as completely adorable on stage, as did her taller, blonder backup singers. At one point she asked if anyone was going to drink beer the giant inflatable Coors can lurking near the back of the grounds, which struck some people as cute, but Paul thought it was a bit lame, to which I replied that she probably needed a script. I thought that was pretty funny, but I always think I’m funny. Anyways, In the Sun finished off the main set, and then in a shocking move, Zooey Deschanel pulled out a Postal Service record and ripped it in half. Okay, that didn’t happen, but how cool would that have been? We wouldn’t have the visual evidence to prove it anyways.